(Source: Vanderbilt University)Working for a "charity" such as a college or university dooms one to a life of penury, right? No, not if you're a university president. Consider this from the AP, courtesy of the boston globe:



Five presidents have cracked the $1 million compensation barrier, including John R. Silber, the now-retired president of Boston University, according to an annual survey by The Chronicle of Higher Education...and more are sure to follow. Nine earned more than $900,000---a figure none broke in last year's report.

All were at private universities, and the figures are for fiscal 2004, the most recent information available for private schools. More recent data on public universities, for the current academic year, shows salaries are rising there, too. Leaders of 23 public institutions are being paid $500,000 or more this year, up from 17 a year ago.And here are the top five from the private and public sectors:

Private Universities (fiscal 2004)
1. Donald E. Ross, Lynn University: $5,042,315
2. Audrey K. Doberstein, Wilmington College: $1,370,973
3. E. Gordon Gee, Vanderbilt University: $1,326,786
4. John R. Silber, Boston University: $1,253,352
5. John M. McCardell, Middlebury College: $1,213,141

Public Universities (2005-2006)
1. Mary Sue Coleman, University of Michigan: $724,604
2. David P. Roselle, University of Delaware: $720,522
3. Mark G. Yudof, University of Texas: $693,677
4. Carl Patton, Georgia State University: $$688,406
5. John T. Casteen, University of Virginia: $659,670